Irish Managers

[Acornvilla]

Was he not promoted within the Celtic staff because Rogers thought he was very good before he choose to move home? I'm not sure there's been much negative said about his coaching ability. Shels have the 4th/5th biggest budget and he has them sitting 1st, they've grown year on year with a limited group. Maybe Joey is the brains, I could see him becoming a manager in his own right at some stage.

I think most of the stuff he says in interviews is to get the rise out of people and it is wild to me how effective it is

[Razors left peg]

Duff reminds me of a typical ra-ra GAA manager - but the guy has little tactical nous. I get the impression he is not the smartest guy to ever play the game. I could see him getting badly exposed if he was given a bigger job. Kenny's ceiling is LOI and I suspect that Duff's is the same.

He has enough tactical nous to have Shels competing with the likes of Derry and Shams on a much smaller budget. The ra-ra stuff might work for one off cup games or something, but to have them where are going into the final game of the season is very impressive and dismissing his tactical abilities is utter nonsense

[Acornvilla]

Duffer got it done, even watching the match tonight, couldn't help but think Derry had a far stronger group of players, but Shels did what they do and found a way to win, there's a lot to be said for a coach that can get that out of any group.

[Fixer82]

He’s done an incredible job. Let’s see how he gets on in Europe

[John83]

I just look at him as someone who learned management from Mourinho. Dour football, abrasive in the media to draw attention onto himself (and usually off the players), seige mentality. I don't think it's comparable with a simple motivator at all. I think it's very deliberate. It's not absolutely current tactics any more, but tactics are only a small part of winning.

[Eirambler]

As far as he's said himself, he's at Shels for the long haul, not particularly interested in international management, wants his kids to grow up here, he'll honestly do far more good for Irish football where he is in any case, he's been a wonderful addition, I wish more of our stars followed his example.

In fairness he wasn't the only one that "wasn't interested in international management" once it became clear they weren't in the running for the international manager's job. Wouldn't believe a word of it.

Fair play to him winning the league all the same. Will be interesting to see how he manages the balance of domestic and European football next year.

[Jolly Red Giant]

He has enough tactical nous to have Shels competing with the likes of Derry and Shams on a much smaller budget. The ra-ra stuff might work for one off cup games or something, but to have them where are going into the final game of the season is very impressive and dismissing his tactical abilities is utter nonsense

The guy deserves credit for getting the better of Derry and Rovers - but they helped a lot by stumbling at every opportunity. Derry won one of their last six games. I still don't rate him and I think he will be found out over time - if he was at a higher level.

[Acornvilla]

He more or less said he hated coaching with Ireland a few months ago fwiw.

Shels did alright in Europe this season, 1 win, 2 draws, 1 defeat, but expectations were low and it was only 4 matches. Form fell apart then, but that more so coincided with losing their 2 best players so I doubt it was an issue with Europe. They might only get 4 matches next season as well. Won't be seeded in CL Q1 so could get a terrible draw, with that you drop straight in to Europa Conference League Q2. Winning CL Q1 is huge.

I've said this elsewhere in the forum but it's probably relevant here

I've been saying all year that teams are less dominant and have dropped so many points because the lower/mid pack are strong, there's been far less easy points to pick up, where teams could rotate or have an off day and still scrape results and I stand by that. It was an outstanding end to the season, Pat's, Rovers and Shels all delivered in the last month when they needed to, only Derry really let themselves down.

There's a lot to look forward to in 2025, but I think on balance it was good for the league to have a new winner, a lot of teams have scope to improve next season, Shels will have to do something special to retain the title.

Also probably worth nothing that if Rovers win on Thursday they've very likely qualified out of the league stage of the conference league, which will be a big milestone for them and by extension the league. It's very easy to craft a narrative about the quality of teams depending on individual whims. They'll be in the conference league qualifying next year, but with a pretty strong co efficient so will likely be seeded for the first 3 rounds anyway.

[Eirambler]

Alan Sheehan linked with the Coventry City job. He's currently the number 2 at Swansea.

[Acornvilla]

The Rovers win last night means they're very likely to be through to the knockout round, some very tough matches ahead, but a big result, were a much better team than TNS, 2-1, made it look tighter than it was, but tbf to TNS they also seemed a decent step up from Larne. Interesting to compare some clubs from nearby leagues in quick succession. Bradley has done pretty well to rescue their season in the last few months, that's 9 wins in the last 12, only loss being to St. Pats, draws away to Derry and home to APOEL, managed Europe well, will be interesting to see how they cope with the big gaps in between matches now, were very lucky they got the two most winnable games while still in season.

[tetsujin1979]

Gary Dicker taking over at Crown Legacy in the US
https://www.charlottefootballclub.co...ext-head-coach

[Acornvilla]

Another big result for Bradley last night, rode their luck in the first half, game should have been done, but they reacted very well and the 2nd half was a really good contest. Officially through to the knockout rounds now.